Eight Crazy Portland Meal Deals and Delicious, Inexpensive Cocktail Recipes

See See Motor Company’s Hot Dog Happy Hour: $6 for a hot dog, chips and beer. 4-6 pm daily. 1642 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-894-9566, seeseemotorcycles.com.

Revelry Tuesday Special: $5 for a box of Korean fried chicken and a tallboy of Rainier. 4-10 pm every Tuesday. 210 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 971-339-3693, relayrestaurantgroup.com.

Life of Pie Happy Hour: $5 margherita pizza, $5 draft beers, $5 glasses of wine. 11 am-6 pm daily. 1765 NW 23rd Ave., 3632 N Williams Ave.; lifeofpiepizza.com.

Impala Taco Special: $9 for two crunchy tacos, crinkle-cut fries and a Rainier. 11 am-10 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Friday, 10 am-11 pm Saturday, 10 am-10 pm Sunday. 1900 NW 27th Ave., 971-288-5961.

Shift Drinks Sunday Supper: A completely free, family-style meal, served every other Sunday through the end of June. 5 pm until sold out. 1200 SW Morrison St., 503-922-3933, shiftdrinkspdx.com. Menus are posted three to four days before the next event on the website and Instagram, @shiftdrinks. 

Marathon Taverna Breakfast Plates: $3 for two eggs, two strips bacon or sausage links, and toast; or an over-easy egg on an open-faced biscuit and two strips of bacon or sausage links. 7 am-2 pm, 10 pm-2 am daily. 1735 W Burnside St., 503-224-1341, marathontaverna.com.

Alberta Market Fried Chicken: $5.50 for four wings and a bag of jojos. 8 am-10:30 pm Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday, 8 am-10 pm Wednesday, 8 am-9:30 pm Sunday. 909 NE Alberta St., 503-282-2169.

Elephants Delicatessen Daily Half-Off Deal: Grab-and-go sandwiches and other items reduced by 50 percent shortly before closing. Around 6:30 pm daily. 115 NW 22nd Ave., 503-299-6304, elephantsdeli.com.

Grocery Outlet (multiple Portland locations; see store locator at groceryoutlet.com) is every penny pincher’s market of choice—it’s the place where you can get everything from soup to fancy cheeses at preposterously discounted prices. But even oenophiles worship the chain’s wine section—there are blogs dedicated to monitoring the selection. Like the rest of the inventory at the affectionately nicknamed “Gross-Out,” you never know what you’re going to find at any given moment, but everything from Argentine malbecs to California pinots can appear on its shelves, with prices sometimes slashed up to 70 percent. If you’re looking for harder stuff, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission publishes a monthly list of booze specials on its website (oregon.gov/olcc)—and because Oregon is a “control state,” those sales apply at every liquor store in the state. MATTHEW SINGER.

What are some tasty, inexpensive cocktails I can make at home?

Bull Run Temperance Trader Bourbon: Stiff, flavorful Manhattans require only a few ingredients—a 2-to-1 ratio of whiskey and sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters and maraschino cherries for garnish and a touch of sweetness. You can buy inexpensive bitters at just about any grocery store and bulk cherries at Hollywood Beverage, if you want something a little nicer than the ubiquitous candy red kind. Shmitt recommends Bull Run Temperance trader bourbon and your choice of cool vermouth. “You can bring a canteen of ’em camping,” he says.

Aria Portland Dry Gin: “Similarly to whiskey, the key to a cheap and excellent gin drink is to keep it simple,” says Shmitt. “And find a gin you like, since they have such different personalities.” For a refreshing gimlet, shake Aria Gin with some muddled limes and sugar.

DL Franklin Vodka: Martinis are about as simple as cocktails get. Hollywood Beverage sells bulk specialty olives, but really, any briny, green olives you’d enjoy eating on their own will do. “You’re gonna want DL Franklin and some olives for these easy martinis on ice,” says Shmitt. “You’re now so fancy and cheap.”